Legacies Karlkurla (Kalgoorlie): Stories From Silky Pear Country

John Curtin Gallery 17 Sep - 6 Dec 2026

Legacies Karlkurla (Kalgoorlie): Stories From Silky Pear Country

Their Stories. Their Words. Their Legacies

Exhibition Details

Exhibition Open: 17 September– 21 October 2026

Supported By: The WA Government, the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts funding and advisory body, Community Broadcasting Foundation, WA Museum of Goldfields, ABC Goldfields Esperance and Tjuma Pulka Media Aboriginal Corporation.

Legacies Karlkurla was produced by Community Arts Network.

Legacies Karlkurla celebrates the life stories of ten respected Aboriginal Elders from the Goldfields region: Geoffrey Stokes, Murray McCarthy, Janice Scott, Dallas McLean, Donald Ballinger, Betty Logan, Brent Johnston, Nyingurta Jessie West, Trevor Brownley and Allison Dimer.

Their poignant, powerful and at times heartbreaking journeys capture critical moments in Australian history.

With portraits by internationally acclaimed photographer Michael Jalaru Torres and podcast conversations hosted by Spinifex Anangu broadcaster Debbie Carmody, Legacies Karlkurla seeks to inspire, educate and build a deeper understanding between people in WA.

The Elders

Brent Johnson

Brent Johnson

The Wati from Dingo Creek

“My legacy?
I just want to be remembered as a Wati and an artist.”

Janice Scott

Janice Scott

The Bush Encyclopedia

“I believe… our young people [must] rise up, listen to the voice of your Elders, move forward, commit yourself to fight for your people, continue that struggle, because if we stop, that’s when we are finished.”

Donald Ballinger

Donald Ballinger

A Hard Working Man

“My grandfather and grandmother taught me all about where to go, what not to do… and every site we went to is where my great grandfather and great grandmother and all the family used to walk before the white man ever came to Kalgoorlie.”

Allison Dimer

Allison Dimer

Birth of the Karlkurla

“The karlkurla had fallen from the sky and when it landed it split into four pieces. The karlkurla grew through the rock and the seeds were blown all over the countryside…that’s where the name Kalgoorlie comes from.”

Betty Logan

Betty Logan

The Power of Persistence

“My dream… I only wanted to do nursing, I didn’t know how I was going to get there, but that was my ambition, to become a nurse.”

Geoffrey Stokes

Geoffrey Stokes

The Shotgun Pastor

“My father and mother, old people and land – we were told to protect family and land. It was our responsibility – no one else’s. I have been involved in [protesting] deaths in custody, protesting against uranium mining, and I protect sites of significance.”

Nyingurta Jessie West

Nyingurta Jessie West

The Campfire Carver

“I want to teach my family how to carve punu and paint our stories and make sure our traditional practice is passed on to the next generation.”

Murray McCarthy

Murray McCarthy

The Call of Cundeelee

“He kept coming closer and closer, you know, just never got to the point where I could walk up and touch him, but I knew he wanted to be a friend. I put a sign up saying ‘Do NOT Shoot the WHITE Dingo.’ He’s my friend.”

Trevor Brownley
Represented by his son Linden

Trevor Brownley

A Man of God

“Dad was a very humble man, and he most of the time let his actions speak, rather than his words, and they did… Dad passed on the 9th of June 2025 and it was very unexpected. There’s such a large void that has been left behind, but our faith in God is big enough to fill that void.”

Dallas McLean

Dallas McLean

Singing & Painting My Country

One week after Dallas McLean recorded her life story at the ABC studios in Kalgoorlie, she passed away after a sudden illness. She had not yet been photographed for this project so, with family permission, we celebrate her life and legacy in this exhibition through her artwork and that of her beloved aunty/mother mentor Pantjiti Mary McLean.

Please be advised that the names, voices and images of deceased Elders in this exhibition have been used with their permission.

Legacies Karlkurla (Kalgoorlie) was originally presented by the Community Arts Network in partnership with WA Museum of Goldfields, ABC Goldfields Esperance and Tjuma Pulka Media Aboriginal Corporation, with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. The Legacies Karlkurla (Kalgoorlie) project was produced with support from the WA  Government and assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts funding and advisory body.

Header Image: A detail from Karlkurla Ngurra Wangka (Speaking on Silky Pear Country), created by artist Tina Carmody in response to the Legacies Karlkurla project.

Profile Images by Micahel Jalaru Torres